July 28, 2005
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=1e14da64-c49d-41c3-b35b-2bf3a3dec1a0
PEMBERTON - Native bands in the Pemberton and Lillooet areas say they are
alarmed that a proposed $500-million ski resort in the Melvin Creek watershed
is being resurrected by Nancy and Al Raine.
Garry John, chief of the Seton Band and chairman of the St'at'imc Chiefs
Council, said Wednesday his group is vehemently opposed to the Raines' decision
to apply for an extension of an Environmental Assessment Act certificate that
expires next month.
He said the St'at'imc thought the project died five years ago after the bands
opposed it, but have now discovered it may yet be brought back to life.
Al Raine confirmed Wednesday he has applied for a one-time, five-year extension
of a certificate he obtained from the province in 2000 as part of a plan to
build Cayoosh Resort, a major ski destination resort in a valley halfway
between Whistler and Lillooet.
He said he made the application because the original certificate expires Aug.
14 and he is hopeful treaty discussions between the provincial government and
the St'at'imc Chiefs Council, which represents 11 local bands, will be resolved
before long.
But John said the development will never happen because the bands categorically
oppose it.
"Al's hoping, as far as I can tell, that the government-to-government
negotiations we're embroiled in between the St'at'imc Chiefs Council and the
provincial government is going to somehow open the door for him," John said.
"We've taken a very clear position, and we've made that known that we're not
there to find a way for Al Raine to get his foot in the door in the territory.
As far as we're concerned, this project is a dead horse and has been for the
last several years."
Raine, who runs the Sun Peaks Resort, said he's only protecting his investment
in Melvin Creek by applying for an extension of the certificate.
Raine and his wife, Olympic skiing medallist Nancy Greene Raine, began the
quest to develop Melvin Creek more than 10 years ago.
"There's no work, there's no action going on," Raine said.
John warned the government not to extend the certificate.
He said the development of Melvin Creek is not acceptable to the St'at'imc,
which claims more than 10,000 square miles (25,900 square kilometres) of
territory between Whistler, Hat Creek and the Kamloops area.
"Why would we let anybody build in an absolutely pristine valley that has
crystal-clear water, is home to wolverines, bears, badgers and mountain goats.
We've utilized the area for thousands of years," John said.
John Bones, a project assessment officer with the provincial Environmental
Assessment Office, said the government has not yet made a decision on the
application.
He noted that since the original certificate was issued, the provincial
government signed an agreement with St'at'imc Chiefs Council over how the bands
should be consulted on land use, and the fate of the Melvin Creek area is part
of those discussions.
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